Filum AI secures $1 million amidst funding winter

Investors in the seed round include South Korea’s Nextrans and TheVentures, VinGroup’s tech-focused fund VinVentures, and strategic backers such as Got It founder Hung Tran, MOG founder Tran Anh Dung, along with several angel investors.

The fresh capital will enable Filum AI to expand its research and development (R&D) team, accelerate product development, enhance customer support, and penetrate the Southeast Asian market. With the rise of AI-powered virtual agents, Filum AI aims to become a leading AI-driven customer experience management (CXM) platform in the region.

CEO Tran Van Vien stressed that Filum AI prioritizes strategic investors over mere funding. The startup chose partners who offer more than capital.

VinVentures invested in Filum AI with plans to integrate its solutions into VinGroup’s ecosystem, following a model similar to Shinhan and Qualcomm’s Innovation Labs, which adopt cutting-edge technologies for internal optimization.

TheVentures, founded by unicorn entrepreneurs, follows a “founder backing founder” model, providing not just funding but also expertise and networks. It has already linked Filum AI to major tech ecosystems in South Korea and Asia, driving its growth.

Filum AI’s competitive edge

Filum AI is a startup specializing in customer experience optimization, offering solutions for personalized experiences, customer journey analysis, and automation through its AI Agent. Founded in 2020 by top experts from Silicon Valley and Vietnam, the team has prior experience in successfully exiting startups. Notably, CEO Tran Van Vien, a co-founder of Base.vn, was part of the team behind the startup’s acquisition by FPT in 2021.

Venture capital inflows into Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, have declined in recent years as funds refocus on the U.S. and major economies. The low exit rate of many past startups has further made investors more cautious.

The investment landscape is shifting. Previously, venture capitalists favored B2C (business-to-consumer) models requiring heavy capital to acquire and retain users, particularly in e-commerce, e-wallets, and ride-hailing. However, the trend has pivoted towards B2B (business-to-business) models with predictable, recurring revenue streams, offering greater stability and scalability.

Subscription-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies, particularly in AI, are now prime investment targets.

From this perspective, Filum AI stands out. Instead of burning cash for market share, it prioritizes high-impact, revenue-generating AI solutions that enterprises willingly adopt. This model allows the company to sustain operations even without external funding, focusing on its core team and product enhancement until market conditions improve.

Moreover, AI’s transformative potential played a crucial role in Filum AI’s fundraising success. AI is becoming an essential driver of customer experience enhancement through innovations such as AI Agents, hyper-personalization, and behavioral predictions. According to FPT’s DxReport 2024, 38 per cent of global enterprises are implementing AI in customer experience management, making it the top AI application area.

Filum AI’s solutions have demonstrated clear value in boosting efficiency and reducing costs. Instead of chasing overhyped AI applications, the company focuses on automating fundamental yet impactful tasks. For instance, its system can handle thousands of customer interactions daily, automatically resolving common inquiries.

This cost-saving aspect is particularly appealing to businesses in a financially cautious era, making Filum AI a strong contender for investment despite market challenges.

For example, at Hoang Ha Mobile, AI-powered customer service optimization has increased efficiency by 32 per cent, reduced staffing needs by 50 per cent, yet still maintained a 99 per cent customer satisfaction rate.

During Vietnam CX Pioneers #10, an event co-hosted by the Global Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) and Filum AI, Hoang Ha Mobile’s Retail Director Nguyen Kim Duc, highlighted AI’s impact. Previously, customer feedback relied on manual surveys, but AI now enables real-time sentiment analysis across thousands of reviews and messages.

“AI is not here to replace humans but to enhance efficiency and service quality. Its effectiveness depends on accurate data and a skilled workforce leveraging it properly,” Duc emphasized.

For Filum AI, this funding round is more than just securing capital as it signals AI’s growing role as a business essential. Companies that harness its power effectively will gain a significant competitive edge in the years ahead.